Veteran Nollywood actress Omotola Jalade has finally poured cold water on years of speculation suggesting she was locked in a long-running feud with fellow screen icon Genevieve Nnaji.

For years, fans and industry watchers have insisted that the two actresses were secretly at odds, largely because they stopped appearing together as frequently as they did during their early Nollywood days.

However, speaking during an interview on Yanga FM, Omotola dismissed the narrative, insisting that there was never any real conflict between them, likening the rumours to the manufactured rivalries often forced on Nigerian music stars.

Accusing fans and observers of creating tension where none existed, Omotola said, “Na them start the quarrel before we know say we dey quarrel. So, we have to catch up with the quarrel. There was no quarrel.”

The interviewer then pressed further, asking whether there was ever a prolonged disagreement between the actresses that spanned nearly two decades before they reunited on the movie EJ.

Responding, Omotola explained that not being inseparable does not automatically translate to hostility, stressing that communication between them never stopped behind the scenes.

“People don’t need to be best friends, but we talked. Behind film, we dey talk normally. Na the same thing they now do with music stars,” she said, drawing parallels with the Wizkid–Davido rivalry.

She added that the Nollywood duo were simply early victims of an industry culture that thrives on comparison and competition.

“They go pitch you against another person, say this one is the hottest girl, that one is the hottest girl. Those tensions go dey, but people read am as fight. There was no quarrel,” Omotola concluded.